The Global Read Aloud: Connecting Students Around the World

Research shows that early reading with children helps them to develop language skills as they interact and bond with those reading to them — those who are read to often learn to read on their own at an earlier age. In addition, the content within the books supports the development of empathy. Children are learning more about the world as they attempt to understand it as portrayed through another person’s eyes.

These benefits don’t end as children begin their school years, but the rate at which we read to them drops as they become independent readers.

The Global Read Aloud

The Global Read Aloud is a project conceived by teacher and author Pernille Ripp. Its stated goal is simple: one book to connect the world. Since it was created in 2010, over two million students in more than 60 different countries have read the chosen books and participated in global discussions about them via Skype, Twitter, Edmodo and other online tools.

Each year, there are four different books to choose from, including a picture book for the youngest readers. Participants range from kindergartners to college students. (You can take a look at past books here.) All that is necessary to join in is actually reading the book, the ability to connect — online is easiest but not mandatory — and a willingness for participants to discuss what they’ve read and the shared experience of reading aloud with other students, parents, and educators across the globe. The aim is to keep those global connections open after the project has ended.

This is meant to make the world a little smaller, to open our eyes to the rest of the world and look at all of our shared experiences. How phenomenal for a child to know that the same book they are reading is being read in classrooms across the globe. – theglobalreadaloud.com

The Global Read Aloud begins October 2, 2017 and runs for six weeks. Sign up and suggest your favorite books for consideration!